Great-Fighter
"King Joe" is a mysterious rogue who makes his first and only appearance in A False Ancestor. Appearance Life as a rogue has affected Joe's physical demeanor in many ways. For one, he is very disheveled and scruffy, particularly in regions such as his chin, elbow joints, and base of the tail. For another, his skinniness and lack of physical prowess are very apparent in the way his ribs can be clearly seen through his chest fur. As far as coloring goes, Joe's main pelt is golden-brown, while his chest, muzzle, and paws are all sandy in color. His mane and tail-tip, both of which are quite scraggly, are russet-red and his eyes are golden-brown. In addition, he has two unusual features, one of which is a freckled muzzle. The other can be seen in the varying colors of his upper and lower eye shades. While his upper eye shades appear to be darker than his main pelt, his lower eye shades are considerably lighter than both his upper eye shades and his main pelt. Personality Reclusive and solitary by nature, Joe is a wanderer. His personal history remains a mystery throughout the comic, though it's heavily implied that his family is deceased. Such presumptions are supported by the fact that he has a natural instinct to be alone, except when the prospect of food is brought up, in which he will respond vigorously. But, despite this mild misery which comes from living alone, he remains thoroughly positive about his predicament, as he is enlightened by the sight of a prosperous land. On the other hand, even though he is reclusive by nature, he has an overall friendly personality and doesn't seem to render any aggressive instincts, as would be expected in a rogue. However, his moral standards seem to be a bit low, as he takes no shame in lying to Simba in exchange for food. His hunger serves as a method of persuading him to do, essentially, anything, and often overlaps his good judgment. Despite this, it's obvious by the end of the comic that he has a good heart, due to his heroic efforts in rescuing Simba from a crocodile. In addition, he has a certain degree of bravery to risk his own life in exchange for that of a cub he barely knows. It can be presumed that he formed a minor bond with Simba over the time they got to know each other and even felt guilty about lying to him. In the end, he owed the cub for all the food he provided. Information The personal history of Joe remains a mystery throughout the comic, though it's heavily implied that his family is deceased. He first appears as a nameless rogue who has wandered into the Pride Lands in search of food. A False Ancestor At the start of the comic, Joe is a nameless rogue who has wandered into the Pride Lands in search of food. Decrepit and starving, he laments the fact that he hasn't eaten in days and has no family to take care of him. However, he is enlightened by the prosperous kingdom of the Pride Lands and is convinced that he'll be able to find a way to feed himself from this lush new world. But as he's taking in his surroundings and planning what to do next, a small meteor crashes down right on top of him! Simba, the prince of the Pride Lands, happens to see the crash and immediately rushes over to see what has happened. As he approaches the crater, he is just in time to see Joe climb out of the hole, muttering to himself about food. Simba excitedly comes to the conclusion that Joe is a star (or a great king of the past) who has fallen from the sky and proceeds to welcome the rogue to earth. As Simba bows low to the ground, Joe realizes that the cub thinks he's some sort of king. He tries to slink away, but Simba protests and asks Joe if he could at least stay and have some lunch. Joe's yearning for food stops him dead in his tracks and Simba offers to get him something to eat. When the young cub returns with a hunk of meat, Joe immediately plunges into the meal and begins to make up a story about his reign as king, hoping that more food will come his way with each story he tells. Simba is oblivious to this and amazed at the things Joe has to say. He asks Joe his name and Joe tells the cub that he's his great-great-great-grandfather, here on a very secret mission. He then warns the cub not to tell anyone about his visit to the Pride Lands. Simba asks if he could tell his father, but Joe says, "Especially not your dad!" A few days after the incident, Mufasa becomes suspicious of his son, for Simba has been distant the last couple days. He sends Zazu to see where Simba has been lately. Zazu soon spots Simba with Joe, who is telling another one of his made-up stories about being king. Joe brags about the great battles he's been in and claims that he is the bravest of all Simba's ancestors. Zazu soon figures out that Joe is lying and promptly goes back to report to Mufasa. At first, Mufasa is outraged and wants to drive Joe out for good, but Zazu advises against this, as Simba would see it as Mufasa driving out an ancient ancestor. He tells Mufasa that it would be best if Simba figured things out on his own. Meanwhile, two strange birds come to visit Joe. They ask him if he's an ancient king and Simba confirms this. Pleased, they claim to know all about the great kings of the past. They come to the conclusion that Joe is the king who ruled during the time of the hyena invasion, who discovered the Elephant Graveyard. They begin pestering Joe with questions and he is unable to answer them correctly. Afraid that Simba will find out he's a fake, Joe starts to slink off, but Simba runs after him and begs him to stay. Joe insists that he must go and leaps across a river in order to lose Simba. But as Simba follows him across the stream, he is trapped by a vicious crocodile! Zazu, who is flying overhead, rushes to get Mufasa, but when he returns with Mufasa at his side, Simba is standing outside the river, smiling. He claims that his "great ancestor" had saved him from the crocodile, but that he'd had to leave, so Mufasa and Zazu had just missed him. The cub then proceeds to tell his father all of Joe's stories. But even though Joe is a hero for saving Simba, he is never seen or heard from again. Trivia * Joe's name remains somewhat of a mystery. Though he calls himself "King Joe," he may just as well be making it up. Quotes Gallery King_Joe2.png|Joe tries to slink away from Simba King Joe5.png|Joe is given a hunk of meat King Joe3.png|Joe tells Simba one of his made-up stories King Joe6.png|Joe tries to escape before his identity is revealed Category:Animals Category:Characters Category:Lions Category:Lions from an Unknown Pride Category:Male Characters Category:Non-Movie Characters Category:Semi-Canon Characters